Keane's March 2012 Trip Report - Part 6
"Let The Memories Begin... Again..."
Please see Part 1 for cast and plot summary...
Day 5. Thursday, March 8th. Epcot
 |
| Click to go directly to the slideshow |
Jenny makes breakfast again, farm fresh eggs and sausage this time. Still no Mickey waffles, though. sniff.
Flower and Garden started at Epcot yesterday. We were there on Monday, and the front of Epcot was empty, and what we saw of Flower and Garden was sparse.
Today, we'll walk around World Showcase. We'll probably watch a lot of movies.
We put the scooter on the bus, and the driver extends the bar that holds down the front of the scooter. I dunno, I don't think it had to be extended, and it's an accident waiting to happen. We stop at Jambo, and like many other days this week, a pretty big crowd gets on the bus, so I get up and sit on the scooter, and let someone else have my seat.
We get to the place where Jenny and I would normally split up (Jenny through Bag Check and I take Mom into the park) but we can't yet. Bag Check lines are so long, I can't get to the "No Bags" entrance. Once we do this, we get into the park. I park Mom in the shade while we wait for Jenny, and I go to take a couple of pictures.
The empty garden in the plaza a couple of days ago, is now a Fantasia theme, with Sorcerer Mickey facing Northeast. That means you want to take the picture in the Morning. The afternoon sun will highlight the back of Mickey's head. In front are the mops, in back are the dancing hippos.
Okay, a little rant here. About oblivious people. Actually, they're more than just oblivious, sometimes... many times... a lot of times they're just plain rude or stupid. Or pick any two or three.
They come in many forms, you see them all the time in the parks. Guests that just stop in the middle of the street to discuss something, while getting in the way of hundreds of guests trying to go around them. Closely related to those are the guests who think it's okay to just stop where they are to watch a street performance, blocking everyone's way. Or walk five across at a pace slower than existing traffic.
Those that think it's okay to just jump in front of a scooter. Do they do that for cars, too? Those dad's that put up their kid on their shoulders just as the fireworks or other show starts, blocking the view of dozens of people behind him. Framing a photograph, only to have some parent stick their kid close in the frame, and have to wait for said parent to finish taking a picture of said kid, so you can take the photo you wanted to take before they came along. (A personal peeve. I'm *sure* they see me trying to get the picture. It's mostly men. Many times the wives apologize for their husband's behavior. Go figure. But I would add it isn't restricted to one sex. SG's have no boundaries to race, creed, color, sex, age, height, weight, or marital disposition.)
Here's another one. A family sitting in a spot Disney had quite clearly set up for photos. This family sat right in front of the Epcot Flower and Garden sign for about 10-15 minutes, waiting for someone. They will ruin the photo for literally hundreds of guests coming through the turnstiles.
While I've always had a policy that thinking you can get a picture anywhere in Disney World without someone else in frame is stupid, it is another to just sit in an obvious photo op set-up like it's a bench in front of the bathrooms. Get off to the side.
And this concludes, another rant of mine. Thank you for your attention while I try to educate the oblivious in this world. We will now return you to your regularly scheduled trip report.
(Okay, so this rant was mostly photo oriented. I'm sure pin-traders and other special interest groups have their own list.)
It's 10:45am, and with the crowds so thick in the park, we decide to make reservations someplace. Mexican. So I stop in at Guest Relations next to SSE and get a reservation at San Angel for say, 11:30. Nope, can only do an hour out. Best they can do is Noon.
Done! I am actually waiting to write down my res number, but actually get a printed card with the reservation on it. Hi ho, hi ho...
With time before we go to lunch, we stop in at mouse gear, were I need to replace some wearing thin stuff, like a new golf (polo?) shirt (for those times I need to dress up at WDW), and a zip up hoodie sweatshirt, which I don't wear. Jenny is looking for sorta matching t-shirts for Miss Tina's family (who is going to WDW in June.)
We waste some time and spend some money in the place, and head out into a gorgeous Florida day. The fairy garden is open, so we take a walk through the place. Everything looks okay, but it's very early in the 2.5 month show, and the plants haven't filled in the displays yet. Probably another couple of weeks before they start to hide the dirt between the plants. Still, it all looks brand-ie new.
We get to Mexico and I drive Miss Marie through the pavillion. We are given a buzzy-lighty thing, and... well, you know. We are finally seated, and we watch the volcano erupt a couple of times. Mom has to use the flashlight I carry to read the menu. Jenny and I both have the chicken enchiladas and Mom has the Taco appetizer as her entree. It was okay. It was probably the worst table service we had, but I wouldn't say it was bad. The other places we were at were just that much better. I've also always felt this place was a little crowded. (I should mention Chicago has great Mexican food, so I'm a hard critic on Mexican...)
We leave Mexico, and some of the orchids that are out during F&G are remarkable. This might be the sort of thing that's gone by the end of Flower and Garden, but is here at the start. The Mariachi band is playing in front of Mexico. Sorry, but every mariachi band I've ever heard reminds me of a certain corn chip. I won't mention a brand name. But they did have a bandito.
We slowly make our way round Norway, then to China, where we're going to go see Reflections of China. I saw the movie after they updated it in 2003, but unfortunately, every time I see Li Bai (the narrator of the film), I think Big Trouble in Little China. Okay, maybe Charlie Chan. He wasn't in Big Trouble.
Now as much as the circlevision cameras were innovative back in their day, surely animation (namely Pixar) could do a 360 degree movie. With a few big effects added in, Disney could replace Canada! Would we miss it? But I digress...
They've put in a large dragon in one of the ponds, and I no longer see the smaller year animals. As a matter of fact, I was at F&G last year, and admittedly, there isn't much new that you didn't see last year. The pandas in the front of China were here last year.
After leaving China, we pass the Outpost. Hey Disney! Here's an idea, rebuild Canada over were the Outpost is. (Put in a raft ride or something.) You then scrap Imagination and the old Canada. This would free up a vast amount of space over on the West side of Epcot. Put Pandora there if you have to (and you really don't have to) and put Barsoom in Animal Kingdom. Just sayin'...
Germany has converted the train set to its F&G motif, and has moved Snow and the seven little people from her normal spot to a place by the Lagoon. I don't recall what was at the place Snow was last year. I don't remember seeing Repunzel's tower, either.
Italy still has Lady and the Tramp, and they still are the best looking topiaries in the show. There is not a Lady and the Tramp blu-ray tie-in. Be still my beating heart! Picture Red Foxx crying out for Elizabeth! (Off topic: I ordered Lady and the Tramp on Blu from Disney. They were supposed to send a code for an extra 200 DMR points. Not only did I not get the code, but I got a 3-D copy of Beauty and the Beast instead of LatT. So the net result is I got a free copy of Beauty and the Beast, which I already had on Blu, but not in 3D, but I don't have a 3D TV anyway. But I got my code and copy of LatT, and I digress.)
We stop in for a Voices of Liberty session. We miss the first tune, but they are excellent as always. I think I'm going to put together a Voices of Liberty section on my video page. We exit without seeing American Adventure. Jose Feliciano is appearing this weekend at the American Gardens Theater. Davy Jones' slot is still TBD. sigh.
Japan doesn't have the extensive Bonsai trees display like last year, but they do have Lightning and Mater, who were the entrance topiaries to World Showcase at last year's F&G, which coincided with the Cars 2 opening. A Matsuriza drummer show is being beaten, and we stop to watch the show.
We don't even stop in Morocco to use the bathrooms. But we do stop in France to see Impressions of France. (Translation courtesy of my high school french class.) As I mentioned in my last trip report, every time I pass this area Serveur Amusant is performing. This time is no different, so we stop and watch the show. I wonder if they change the show during high winds.
We have two hours, and wander down to Canada to see Oh Canada! There is a Duck and 8 ducklings in the pond in back of Canada. Perhaps that's why the duck isn't always on the menu at Citricos.
Did I mention if you tear down Imagination and Canada, there's be a pretty big area here for something? For all of the great themeing there is going to the back of Canada, the payoff is "O, Canada". O, Boy. Attractions like this are for the guests that come back once every 10 years. Even Off Kilter tried to remove themselves as far away as possible. (I'm not being too harsh, am I?)
|
| A friendship boat going to the International Gateway |
Cape May was excellent. The special for the night was calamari. Had one. Nope. No deep fried stuff tonight. The clam chowder was excellent. Crab legs (and more crab legs), mussels, clams, (all of which do not come in very environmentally friendly packaging), boiled shrimp, seafood pasta, and even something green. And of course, the cheesecake and the flan. Mmmmm...
Another rant is coming. Ready? Stupid Parents.
I've detailed stupid parents before, but the table next to us was... well... They have to call the chef over because one of their kids is like, allergic to everything in life, including a shellfish allergy. And you bring a kid like that to Cape May? Why don't you take a kid allergic to chocolate to Hershey World? Take him out to play in traffic? Didn't have any other dining choices?
Okay, I'm not a parent. I'm not sure that disqualifies me from my stupid parent judgment...
I think I have more flan, and we leave Cape May stuffed. We walk to the boat dock, and The Beach Club beach is closed for a private event. You can rent the beach? It's 6:30, and we're heading toward DHS to grab a bus back to Kidani.
In the time it has taken us to get here from The Beach Club, it has gotten dark. We get off the boat, and there's another Sorcerer Mickey and mop/bucket topiaries here at the entance to DHS. It looks like they were they moved out here from in front of the Brown Derby.
We get to the bus stop, and there's a bus waiting for us. Even though he's already loaded passengers, he lowers the ramp, and we get back to AKL without delay. Which is good, because it has started to rain. Excellent timing.
I think I'm asleep by 9pm. sigh.
End March 2012 Trip Report - Part 6.
| Jump to: | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Trip Reports |
|---|
- 04/05/2012 - Page Added
- 12/31/2012 - Update to v3.1
- 09/01/2014 - Update to v3.2
- September 2022 - Upgrade to v5.0.
| Help! | About This Site | Contact Me |